Pages

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Coloring Your Vinyl!

Since I have an eCraft on its way, I have been toying with the idea of buying rolls of vinyl instead of the sheets that I normally buy now because the rolls are so much cheaper. I have steered away from buying rolls because buying 1 roll in every color that I want would cost an arm and a leg. Recently I saw a blog post somewhere and unfortunately didn't bookmark it. This blogger used THIS method on a piece of vinyl and then cut a shape out of it in her Cricut to apply to a Frisbee. (If you know who this blogger is, please let me know, I would LOVE to thank her for this!) I have used this technique before and love the results, so it got me thinking. This technique uses the Adirondack Alcohol Inks, so what other items out there use alcohol inks? Copics. You have to love the Copic markers. I also happen to have the Copic Airbrush system, so I thought that I could probably airbrush white vinyl. It works like a charm, and the effect is so beautiful!

For this example, I used Copic V17 and RV19. First I airbrushed a layer of V17 and here is what it looks like after 1 coat.

I then applied a layer of RV19.

The inks dry almost instantaneously. By the time I put the markers and the air compressor away, the inks are dry and ready to be cut.

Now, the first time I used transfer tape (or in my case Contact paper that I de-stickied a little by pressing it against my jeans), I was concerned that there might be problems. Would the ink come off with the contact paper? Would the contact paper even release from the vinyl? I had no problems whatsoever. It works perfectly. And here is the finished product...

I just love the effect that this airbrushed vinyl gives this wall art piece. I think that I can comfortably buy a roll of white vinyl and use this more in the future. I have a vinyl wall art piece that I am going to make for my MIL as a birthday present, and have been having trouble finding just the right color for it. I will be using this technique for sure on it now!

On a side note: I am not in love with the contact paper as a transfer tape. The transfer tape that I have also is not great. If you know of a great transfer tape at a reasonable price, please let me know. I could really use some crafty advice on this!